Arthur Stanley Newens (4 February 1930 – 2 March 2021) was a British Labour Co-operative politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1983, and a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from 1984 to 1999.

Background

Arthur Stanley Newens was born in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

, London, on 4 February 1930, and was brought up in

Epping, Essex Epping is a market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. Part of the London metropolitan area, metropolitan and Urban area, urban area of London, it is 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Charing Cross. It is surrounde ...

. He was educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School.

Career

Newens was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during National Service and worked as a coalminer in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. He graduated in History from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, and became a schoolteacher. In 1949 he joined the Labour Party, and was still a member. At UCL, he met Anil Moonesinghe, a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

, who was later to become a Cabinet Minister in

, and joined the Socialist Review Group led by Tony Cliff, a former member of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), which later became the Socialist Workers Party (SWP); he left this group in 1959. He held several posts in the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

and was chairman of the Movement for Colonial Freedom and president of the London Co-operative Society. Newens subsequently represented two

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

constituencies as a Labour MP. He was elected for Epping in 1964, and lost the seat in 1970. In 1974, he became the first MP for

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

, but lost the seat in the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

landslide of 1983. Following this, he became an MEP for the

London Central The London Central Bus Company is a bus operator brand under London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and primarily operates services in South London under contract to Tran ...

constituency in 1984, which he served until 1999. He stood for Harlow again in 1987, but was unsuccessful. He held several senior positions, including Vice Chair of the PLP Foreign Affairs Group and Chair and Deputy Leader of the Labour Group of MEPs. He was generally seen as a prominent left-winger, campaigning against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and for other international causes.

Other work

Newens was an active trade unionist, and wrote numerous pamphlets and books, including ''The Case Against Nato'' (1972), ''Third World: Change or Chaos'' (1977), ''A History of Struggle: 50th Anniversary of Liberation, formerly the Movement for Colonial Freedom'' (2004) and ''Nicolae Ceausescu: The Man, His Ideas and His Socialist Achievements'' (1972). He was also a local historian of Essex and East London; his book "A History of North Weald Bassett and Its People" was published in 1985, and his study of writer Arthur Morrison was published in Loughton in 2008. His autobiography, ''In Quest of a Fairer Society: My Life and Politics'', was published in November 2013 by The Memoir Club.

Personal life and death

In 1954, Newens married Ann Sherratt; they had two children before her death in 1962, after suffering a miscarriage. He re-married in 1966, to Sandra Firth, with whom he had three children. Newens died from heart disease at his home in

on 2 March 2021, at the age of 91.The Guardian: Stan Newens obituary
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Publications

* ''Talking with Nicolae Ceaușescu : an interview with Stan Newens'' (1982). London : London Co-operative Society Political Committee. * ''Nicolae Ceaușescu: the man, his ideas and his socialist achievements'' (1972). Presented by Stan Newens. Nottingham : Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. * ''The case against N.A.T.O.: the danger of the nuclear alliances'' (1972). London. * ''A history of North Weald Bassett and its people'' (1985). Stan Newens. North Weald : Nuclear Printing Co. * ''Nicolae Ceaușescu: The Man, his ideas, and his Socialist Achievements'' (1972). Stan Newens. Spokesman Books. * ''The memoirs of an old East-Ender'' Arthur Ernest Newens (1899-1977); edited with an introduction by Stan Newens. (2006). Harlow : A.S. Newens. * ''Working together : a short history of the London Co-op Society Political Committee'' (1988). Stan Newens. London : CRS London Political Committee. * ''Arthur Morrison : the novelist of realism in East London and Essex'' (2008). Stan Newens. Loughton : Alderton. * ''The Kurds - a people's struggle for peace and justice'' (1994). Liberation. * ''Leah Manning'' (1991). Ron Bill and Stan Newens. Harlow : Leah Manning Trust in association with Square One Books.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newens, Stan 1930 births 2021 deaths British anti–Vietnam War activists British conscientious objectors British socialists Alumni of University College London Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies National Union of Teachers-sponsored MPs People educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School People from Bethnal Green Revolutionary Communist Party (UK, 1944) members Socialist Workers Party (UK) members UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1984–1989 MEPs for England 1989–1994 MEPs for England 1994–1999 Schoolteachers from London British coal miners British political writers